Fiber Optic Equipment Guides and Rails Configured with Stopping Position(s), and Related Equipment and Methods

ABSTRACT

Fiber optic equipment guides and rails and related methods are disclosed. In one embodiment, the fiber optic equipment guides and rails have at least one stopping member disposed therein to provide at least one stopping position during movement. The fiber optic equipment guides and rails can be included in fiber optic equipment to support movement or translation of the fiber optic equipment for access. Such fiber optic equipment can include, but is not limited to, fiber optic equipment chassis, drawers, equipment trays, and fiber optic modules. The fiber optic equipment guides and/or rails include at least one stopping member configured to provide at least one stopping position during movement. Stopping positions allow fiber optic equipment to be retained in a given position during access to the fiber optic equipment. The stopping positions are configured to be overcome with additional force to allow further movement of the fiber optic equipment.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to co-pending U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/180,331, filed May 21, 2009, entitled“Fiber Optic Equipment Guides and Rails Configured With StoppingPosition(s), and Related Equipment,” which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

The present application also claims priority to co-pending U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/219,233, filed Jun. 22, 2009,entitled “Fiber Optic Equipment Guides and Rails Configured WithStopping Position(s), and Related Equipment,” which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

The present application is related to co-pending U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/180,334, filed May 21, 2009, entitled “FiberOptic Equipment Supporting Moveable Fiber Optic Equipment Tray(s) andModule(s), and Related Equipment,” which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

The present application is also related to co-pending U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application Ser. No. 61/219,241, filed Jun. 22, 2009, entitled“Fiber Optic Equipment Supporting Moveable Fiber Optic Equipment Tray(s)and Module(s), and Related Equipment,” which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

The present application is related to co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/323,423, filed Nov. 25, 2008, entitled “Rear-InstallableFiber Optic Modules and Equipment,” which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

The present application is also related to co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/323,415, filed Nov. 25, 2008, entitled“Independently Translatable Modules and Fiber Optic Equipment Trays InFiber Optic Equipment,” which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

The present application is also related to co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/394,483, filed Feb. 27, 2009, entitled“Rear-Slidable Extension in a Fiber Optic Equipment Tray,” which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Disclosure

The technology of the disclosure relates to fiber optic modules providedin fiber optic equipment to support fiber optic connections.

2. Technical Background

Benefits of optical fiber include extremely wide bandwidth and low noiseoperation. Because of these advantages, optical fiber is increasinglybeing used for a variety of applications, including but not limited tobroadband voice, video, and data transmission. Fiber optic networksemploying optical fiber are being developed and used to deliver voice,video, and data transmissions to subscribers over both private andpublic networks. These fiber optic networks often include separatedconnection points linking optical fibers to provide “live fiber” fromone connection point to another connection point. In this regard, fiberoptic equipment is located in data distribution centers or centraloffices to support interconnections.

The fiber optic equipment is customized based on the application need.The fiber optic equipment is typically included in housings that aremounted in equipment racks to optimize use of space. One example of suchfiber optic equipment is a fiber optic module. A fiber optic module isdesigned to provide cable-to-cable fiber optic connections and managethe polarity of fiber optic cable connections. A fiber optic module istypically mounted to a chassis or housing which is then mounted insidean equipment rack or cabinet. A technician establishes fiber opticconnections to fiber optic equipment mounted in the equipment rack. Aneed still exists to improve access to optical components in a fiberoptic equipment tray as well as provide neat routing and organization ofjumper connections.

SUMMARY OF THE DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments disclosed in the detailed description include fiber opticequipment guides and/or fiber optic equipment rails and relatedequipment and methods. The fiber optic equipment guides and/or fiberoptic equipment rails have at least one stopping member disposed thereinto provide at least one stopping position during movement. The fiberoptic equipment guides and/or fiber optic equipment rails can beincluded in fiber optic equipment to support movement or translation ofthe fiber optic equipment for access. Such fiber optic equipment caninclude, but is not limited to, fiber optic equipment chassis, drawers,equipment trays, and fiber optic modules. The fiber optic equipmentguides and/or rails include at least one stopping member configured toprovide at least one stopping position during movement of the fiberoptic guides and/or rails. Stopping positions allow fiber opticequipment to be retained in a given position during access to the fiberoptic equipment. The stopping positions are configured to be overcomewith additional force to allow further movement of the fiber opticequipment.

In one embodiment, a fiber optic equipment guide is provided. The fiberoptic equipment guide comprises a guide panel. At least one guide memberis disposed in the guide panel and configured to receive at least onefiber optic equipment rail. At least one stopping member is disposed inthe at least one guide member. The stopping member(s) is configured toprovide at least one stopping position for the at least one fiber opticequipment rail during movement in the at least one guide member.

In another embodiment, a fiber optic equipment rail is provided. Thefiber optic equipment rail comprises an elongated member. The elongatedmember is configured to be attached to fiber optic equipment. Theelongated member is further configured to be received in a fiber opticequipment guide to move the fiber optic equipment about the fiber opticequipment guide. At least one stopping member is disposed in theelongated member. The stopping member(s) is configured to provide atleast one stopping position for the fiber optic equipment duringmovement in the fiber optic equipment guide.

The fiber optic equipment guides and rails disclosed herein can beattached or disposed in any type of fiber optic equipment for movementand to provide stopping positions along the movement path. The fiberoptic equipment guides can be attached or disposed, without limitation,in chassis, fiber optic equipment drawers, fiber optic equipment trays,and/or fiber optic modules. The fiber optic equipment rails can beattached or disposed, without limitation, in fiber optic equipmentdrawers, fiber optic equipment trays, and/or fiber optic modules.

Additional features and advantages will be set forth in the detaileddescription which follows, and in part will be readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art from that description or recognized by practicing theinvention as described herein, including the detailed description thatfollows, the claims, as well as the appended drawings.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description present embodiments, and are intendedto provide an overview or framework for understanding the nature andcharacter of the disclosure. The accompanying drawings are included toprovide a further understanding, and are incorporated into andconstitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate variousembodiments, and together with the description serve to explain theprinciples and operation of the concepts disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an exemplary fiber optic equipmentdrawer installed in a chassis and supporting independently moveablefiber optic equipment trays and modules, according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2A is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerof FIG. 1 pulled fully open from the chassis and tilted downward, withone of the fiber optic equipment trays pulled out from the fiber opticequipment drawer;

FIG. 2B is a side view of the fiber optic equipment drawer in FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerand chassis of FIG. 1 with a chassis cover removed;

FIG. 4 is a close-up view of the drawer door of the fiber opticequipment drawer of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerand chassis of FIG. 1 with the drawer door lowered according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerand chassis of FIG. 1 with the fiber optic equipment drawer extended outfrom the chassis and the drawer door lowered;

FIG. 7 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerof FIG. 1 without installed fiber optic equipment trays and modules;

FIG. 8A is a left side, cross-section view of an exemplary drawerretention member in the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 1 retainedin the chassis;

FIG. 8B is a top perspective, cross-section view of the drawer retentionmember illustrated in FIG. 8A;

FIG. 9A is a top perspective, close-up view of the drawer retentionmember of the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 1 pulled out from thechassis;

FIG. 9B is a bottom perspective, close-up view of the drawer retentionmember illustrated in FIG. 9A;

FIG. 10A is a front perspective view of a rear panel of the fiber opticequipment drawer of FIG. 1 illustrating an exemplary drawer pull-outlimiting member just prior to the fiber optic equipment drawer beingfully pulled out from the chassis;

FIG. 10B is a front perspective view of a rear panel of the fiber opticequipment drawer of FIG. 1 illustrating the fiber optic equipment drawerpull-out limiting member of FIG. 10A when the fiber optic equipmentdrawer is fully pulled out from the chassis;

FIG. 11A is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerof FIG. 1 fully pulled out from the chassis and tilted downward;

FIG. 11B is a side view of the fiber optic equipment drawer in FIG. 11A;

FIG. 12 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerof FIG. 1 without installed fiber optic equipment trays and modules andtilted downward;

FIG. 13A is a top perspective close-up view of an exemplary tiltlimiting member of the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 1 when thefiber optic equipment drawer is pulled out from the chassis and nottilted;

FIG. 13B is a top perspective close-up view of the tilt limiting memberof FIG. 13A when the fiber optic equipment drawer is fully pulled outfrom the chassis and tilted downward;

FIG. 13C is a bottom perspective close-up view of FIG. 13B;

FIG. 13D is a close-up bottom perspective view of the tilt limitingmember of FIG. 13A including a slot to further limit the tilt angle ofthe fiber optic equipment drawer;

FIG. 13E is a bottom perspective view of FIG. 13D with the fiber opticequipment drawer tilted downward;

FIG. 13F is a front, right perspective view of the fiber optic equipmentdrawer of FIG. 7 including the tilt limiting members of FIGS. 13D and13E disposed between a flange of the fiber optic equipment drawer and acontrol plate configured to provide splay control for the fiber opticequipment drawer;

FIG. 13G is a rear, right perspective view of FIG. 13F;

FIGS. 13H and 13I are close-up, left and right perspective views,respectively, of the fiber optic equipment drawer and the tilt limitingmember in FIGS. 13F and 13G illustrating an example of how a controlplate can be attached to the flanges of the fiber optic equipmentdrawer;

FIG. 13J is a close-up side view of the fiber optic equipment drawer andthe tilt limiting member in FIGS. 13F and 13G illustrating an exemplaryalignment of the control plate to the tilt limiting member and a flangeof the fiber optic equipment drawer;

FIG. 13K is a close-up, right perspective view of the control plateattached to the flange of the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIGS. 13Eand 13F;

FIG. 13L is a close-up, left perspective view of the control plateattached to the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIGS. 13E and 13F withthe fiber optic equipment drawer tilted downward;

FIG. 14A is a front perspective view of an exemplary fiber opticequipment tray supported by the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 1and pulled out from the fiber optic equipment drawer;

FIG. 14B is a close-up view of the fiber optic equipment tray of FIG.14A;

FIG. 15 is a front perspective view of the exemplary fiber opticequipment tray of FIG. 14A removed from the fiber optic equipment drawerof FIG. 1;

FIG. 16A is a front, right perspective view of an exemplary fiber opticmodule that can be supported by the fiber optic equipment tray of FIG.15;

FIG. 16B is a front, left perspective view of the fiber optic module ofFIG. 16A;

FIG. 17 is a front perspective view of fiber optic modules according tothe fiber optic modules of FIG. 16A installed in the fiber opticequipment tray of FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 is a rear perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerand chassis of FIG. 3 illustrating rear-installable fiber optic modulesinstalled in the fiber optic equipment trays installed in the fiberoptic equipment drawer;

FIGS. 19A and 19B are left and right perspective views of an exemplarytray guide disposed in the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 1configured to receive the fiber optic equipment tray of FIG. 15;

FIGS. 19C and 19D are left and right perspective views of anotherexemplary tray guide configured to receive tray rail(s) of the fiberoptic equipment tray of FIG. 15;

FIG. 20 is a perspective, left-side cross-sectional view of the fiberoptic equipment drawer and chassis of FIG. 1 illustrating the tray guideof FIGS. 19A and 19B receiving tray rails of the fiber optic equipmenttrays of FIG. 15;

FIGS. 21A and 21B are perspective and top views, respectively, of anexemplary tray rail for the fiber optic equipment tray of FIG. 15configured to be received by the tray guide of FIGS. 19A and 19B;

FIG. 22 is a rear perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerand chassis of FIG. 1 with the rear chassis cover illustrated andremoved;

FIG. 23 is a rear perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerand chassis of FIG. 22 with the rear chassis cover installed;

FIG. 24 is a front perspective view of another exemplary fiber opticequipment drawer installed in a chassis and supporting independentlymoveable fiber optic equipment trays and modules;

FIG. 25A is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerof FIG. 24 pulled fully open from the chassis and tilted downward;

FIG. 25B is a side view of the fiber optic equipment drawer in FIG. 25A;

FIG. 26 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerand chassis of FIG. 24 with the drawer door lowered according to oneembodiment;

FIG. 27A is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerand chassis of FIG. 24 with the fiber optic equipment drawer extendedout from the chassis and the drawer door lowered;

FIG. 27B is a top view of the fiber optic equipment drawer and chassisof FIG. 27A;

FIG. 28 is a bottom perspective, close-up view of a left end drawerretention member of the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 24;

FIG. 29A is a perspective, right-side, isolated view of a right enddrawer retention member of the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 24;

FIG. 29B is a perspective, left-side, isolated view of the drawerretention member of FIG. 29A;

FIG. 30A is a perspective, close-up view of the front panel and rearpanel of the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 24 with the frontpanel tilted downward;

FIG. 30B is a perspective, close-up view of a drawer pull-out limitingmember of the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 24;

FIG. 31A is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerof FIG. 24 fully pulled out from the chassis and tilted downward;

FIG. 31B is a rear perspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawerin FIG. 31A;

FIG. 32A is a perspective, close-up view of a drawer guide fullyextended out from a drawer rail disposed in the fiber optic equipmentdrawer of FIG. 24;

FIG. 32B is a perspective, close-up view of the drawer guide of FIG. 32Aretracted fully into the drawer rail in the fiber optic equipment drawerof FIG. 24;

FIG. 33A is a front perspective view of alternative exemplary fiberoptic equipment including independently moveable fiber optic equipmenttrays and fiber optic modules installed therein, according to anotherembodiment;

FIG. 33B is a side view of the fiber optic equipment drawer of FIG. 33A;

FIG. 34 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment of FIG.33A with the chassis cover removed; and

FIG. 35 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment of FIG.33A with a fiber optic equipment tray pulled out from the chassis.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to certain embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which some, butnot all features are shown. Indeed, embodiments disclosed herein may beembodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limitedto the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments areprovided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legalrequirements. Whenever possible, like reference numbers will be used torefer to like components or parts.

Embodiments disclosed in the detailed description include fiber opticequipment guides and/or fiber optic equipment rails and relatedequipment and methods. The fiber optic equipment guides and/or fiberoptic equipment rails have at least one stopping member disposed thereinto provide at least one stopping position during movement. The fiberoptic equipment guides and/or fiber optic equipment rails can beincluded in fiber optic equipment to support movement or translation ofthe fiber optic equipment for access. Such fiber optic equipment caninclude, but is not limited to, fiber optic equipment chassis, drawers,equipment trays, and fiber optic modules. The fiber optic equipmentguides and/or rails include at least one stopping member configured toprovide at least one stopping position during movement of the fiberoptic guides and/or rails. Stopping positions allow fiber opticequipment to be retained in a given position during access to the fiberoptic equipment. The stopping positions are configured to be overcomewith additional force to allow further movement of the fiber opticequipment.

Embodiments disclosed in the detailed description also include fiberoptic apparatuses that support fiber optic equipment. In one embodiment,the fiber optic apparatus comprises a fiber optic equipment drawer. Thefiber optic equipment drawer is installed in and movable about achassis. At least one fiber optic equipment tray is received in at leastone tray guide disposed in the fiber optic equipment drawer. The fiberoptic equipment tray(s) is moveable about the tray guide(s) to bemovable about the fiber optic equipment drawer. At least one fiber opticmodule is received in at least one module guide disposed in a fiberoptic equipment tray. The fiber optic module(s) is movable about themodule guide(s) to be movable about a fiber optic equipment tray. Inthis manner, enhanced access can be provided to the fiber opticmodule(s) disposed in the fiber optic equipment drawer and its fiberoptic connections. The fiber optic equipment drawer can be moved outfrom the chassis to provide access to the fiber optic equipment tray(s)and fiber optic module(s) supported therein. The fiber optic equipmenttray(s) can be moved out from the fiber optic equipment drawer toprovide enhanced access to the fiber optic module(s) supported therein.The fiber optic module(s) can be moved out from the fiber opticequipment tray(s) to provide further enhanced access to the fiber opticmodule(s). Enhanced access may be useful for installing orre-installing, re-configuring, and/or removing fiber optic modules andaccessing fiber optic connections made therein.

In this regard, FIG. 1 illustrates exemplary fiber optic equipment 10.The exemplary fiber optic equipment 10 may be provided at a datadistribution center or central office to support cable-to-cable fiberoptic connections and to manage a plurality of fiber optic cableconnections. The fiber optic equipment 10 includes a fiber opticequipment chassis 12 (“chassis 12”). The chassis 12 is shown as beinginstalled in a fiber optic equipment rack 14. The fiber optic equipmentrack 14 contains two vertical rails 16A, 16B that extend vertically andinclude a series of apertures 18. The apertures 18 facilitate attachmentof the fiber optic equipment 10 inside the fiber optic equipment rack14. The fiber optic equipment 10 is attached and supported by the fiberoptic equipment rack 14 in the form of shelves that are stacked on topof each other within the vertical rails 16A, 16B. As illustrated, thefiber optic equipment 10 is attached to the vertical rails 16A, 16B. Thefiber optic equipment rack 14 may support 1U-sized shelves, any otherU-size, with “U” equaling a standard 1.75 inches in height, or any otherheight desired.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and discussed in greater detail below in thisdescription, the chassis 12 includes a fiber optic equipment drawer 20supporting one or more extendable fiber optic equipment trays 22. Thefiber optic equipment trays 22 can be moved and extended from the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20 and retracted back into the fiber opticequipment drawer 20. Any number of fiber optic equipment trays 22 can beprovided. Each fiber optic equipment tray 22 supports one or more fiberoptic modules (illustrated in FIG. 2A as element 26) that each supportone or more fiber optic connections. The view of the fiber optic modulesin FIG. 1 is obstructed by a front chassis cover 24 placed in front ofthe fiber optic equipment drawer 20 as part of the chassis 12. The frontchassis cover 24 is attached to a rear chassis cover 25 to form a coverover the chassis 12. The fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is extendableout from the chassis 12 to access the fiber optic equipment trays 22 andthe fiber optic modules 26 supported therein.

In the example of the fiber optic equipment 10 in FIG. 1, two fiberoptic equipment trays 22 are supported by the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 with each fiber optic equipment tray 22 supporting four (4)fiber optic modules 26. Each fiber optic module 26 supports twelve (12)optical fiber connections. Thus, a total of up to ninety-six (96)optical fiber connections can be provided by the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20, although the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is not limitedto this density.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are provided to summarize certain capabilities andfeatures of the fiber optic equipment 10 and fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 of FIG. 1. Embodiments of these capabilities and features willbe described in more detail in this description. FIG. 2A is a frontperspective view of the chassis 12 and fiber optic equipment drawer 20.FIG. 2B is a side view of the chassis 12 and fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20. As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the fiber optic equipment drawer20 is pulled out from the chassis 12. The fiber optic modules 26supported by the fiber optic equipment trays 22 inside the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 can be seen. The fiber optic equipment drawer 20 canbe extended out from the chassis 12 to provide access to the fiber opticequipment trays 22. The fiber optic equipment trays 22 can be extendedout from the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 to provide access to fiberoptic modules 26 supported in the fiber optic equipment trays 22 andfiber optic connections supported therein. As illustrated in FIGS. 2Aand 2B, the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is pulled or extended fullyfrom the chassis 12 and tilted downward. The fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 can be tilted downward to tilt the fiber optic modules 26installed in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 downward if desired, asillustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Tilting the fiber optic equipment drawer20 downward for access may be particularly useful if the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 is located higher in a fiber optic equipment rack.The fiber optic modules 26 can be accessed by pulling out the fiberoptic equipment tray 22 supporting the fiber optic module 26 from thefiber optic equipment drawer 20, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B.Further, the fiber optic modules 26 can be removed from the fiber opticequipment trays 22, if desired.

As will be described in more detail below, each fiber optic equipmenttray 22 is also independently translatable from the fiber opticequipment drawer 20, whether or not the fiber optic equipment drawer 20is extended out from the chassis 12 or tilted downward. This isillustrated by example in FIGS. 2A and 2B. As illustrated therein, oneof the fiber optic equipment trays 22′ is pulled out from the extendedfiber optic equipment drawer 20. In this manner, enhanced access can beprovided to the fiber optic modules 26. Access may be used forinstalling, configuring, re-configuring, re-installing, and removing thefiber optic modules 26 and the fiber optic connections provided thereinas an example. As will be also described in more detail below, eachparticular fiber optic module 26 in this embodiment can be translated orremoved independent from other fiber optic modules 26 in a given fiberoptic equipment tray 22 for further access, if desired.

FIGS. 3-23 will now be referenced to describe the various capabilitiesand features of the fiber optic equipment 10 and fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 of FIG. 1 by example in more detail.

FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment 10 andfiber optic equipment drawer 20 of FIG. 1 with the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 fully retracted into the chassis 12. The front chassis cover24 and the rear chassis cover 25 are removed to facilitate discussion ofthe components of and inside the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. Asillustrated in FIG. 3, the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 includes adrawer door 28 in this embodiment. When the fiber optic equipment trays22 are fully retracted into the fiber optic equipment drawer 20, asillustrated in FIG. 3, the drawer door 28 can be closed and locked tothe chassis 12 to close off access to the fiber optic equipment trays22. In this embodiment, the drawer door 28 is hingedly attached to thefront end 30 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. FIG. 4 is aclose-up view of FIG. 3 illustrating a portion of the drawer door 28 anda hinge 32 attaching a bottom portion 34 of the drawer door 28 to thefront end 30 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 in this embodiment.In this manner, the drawer door 28 is retained with the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 when the drawer door 28 is opened, as illustrated inFIG. 5.

To retain the drawer door 28 closed to the chassis 12 in thisembodiment, a drawer door locking mechanism 40 is provided. The drawerdoor locking mechanism 40 is configured to releasably retain the drawerdoor 28 closed to the chassis 12, and more particularly to the frontchassis cover 24. As illustrated in FIG. 3, two drawer door lockingmechanisms 40 are provided; one for a left side end 42 and one for aright side end 44 of the drawer door 28. FIG. 4 illustrates a close-upview of the drawer door locking mechanism 40. In this embodiment, thedrawer door locking mechanism 40 is comprised of a push button latch 46.The push button latch 46 is configured to engage a latch 48 with a latchorifice 51 disposed in the front chassis cover 24 to retain the drawerdoor 28 closed. Push button latches 46 are each disposed in the drawerdoor 28, one on the left side end 42 and one on the right side end 44,in this embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 5. Two latch orifices 51 aredisposed in the front chassis cover 24 and configured to receive thelatches 48 to lock the drawer door 28, as also illustrated in FIG. 5.The push button latches 46 in this embodiment are spring-loaded suchthat when a force is not applied to push buttons 50, the latches 48 arebiased upward to retain the latches 48 engaged with the latch orifices51 when the drawer door 28 is closed.

When it is desired to pull out one or more of the fiber optic equipmenttrays 22, the drawer door 28 can be unlocked from the front chassiscover 24 and opened. The push buttons 50 are configured to move thelatches 48 downward to overcome the spring-loaded force in the pushbutton latches 46 when a downward force is applied to the push buttons50. When the push buttons 50 are pushed downward, the latches 48 aredisengaged from the latch orifices 51 in the front chassis cover 24 tounlock the drawer door 28. The drawer door 28 can then be opened fromthe front chassis cover 24. When opened, the drawer door 28 can swingdownward about the hinges 32.

As previously discussed, the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 in thefiber optic equipment 10 of FIG. 1 is configured to be pulled out fromthe chassis 12 for enhanced access to the fiber optic equipments trays22 and/or to the fiber optic modules 26 contained therein. In thisregard, FIG. 6 provides a front perspective view of the fiber opticequipment 10 and fiber optic equipment drawer 20 of FIG. 1 with thedrawer door 28 opened and lowered and the fiber optic equipment drawer20 extended out from the chassis 12.

To further illustrate the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 and itsvarious features and components, a perspective view of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 which has been removed from the chassis 12 and doesnot include fiber optic equipment trays 22 and fiber optic modules 26 isillustrated in FIG. 7. The fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is configuredto provide several features, some or all which can be provided. In thisembodiment, the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 includes a front panel58 attached to a rear panel 60. The front panel 58 and rear panel 60 maybe formed from sheet metal or any other form or type of materialdesired. The front panel 58 is configured to support one or more fiberoptic equipment trays 22 and fiber optic modules 26 disposed in thefiber optic equipment trays 22, as previously discussed and illustratedin FIG. 6.

With continuing reference to FIG. 7, the fiber optic equipment drawer 20includes two drawer retention members 62 disposed in the front panel 58.The drawer retention members 62 are configured to releasably retain thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 in the chassis 12 until a sufficient andpurposeful force is applied to release the fiber optic equipment drawer20. In this embodiment, the drawer retention members 62 are provided inthe form of embosses or dimples 64 disposed in the front panel 58adjacent the front end 30 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. Theembosses 64 are configured to align with and interfere with protrusionsprovided in the form of protruding lances (illustrated in FIG. 8A aselement 88) disposed in the chassis 12 when the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 is retracted into the chassis 12. To release the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 to be extended from the chassis 12, a force isapplied to the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. The embosses 64 willabut against the lances 88. To clear the interference between theembosses 64 and the lances 88, a force is applied to the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 sufficient to allow the embosses 64 to be pulled upacross and over the lances 88 in the chassis 12 to release the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20 from the chassis 12. A force is likewiseapplied to the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 to push the embosses 64across and back over the lances 88 to retain the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 retracted into the chassis 12. The embosses 64 in thisembodiment are disposed in raised sections 65 in the front panel 58extending from the front end 30 to a rear end 67 of the front panel 58.One or more than two drawer retention members 62 may also be provided.More detail regarding the drawer retention members 62 in this embodimentis described below with regard to FIGS. 8A-9B.

Also in this embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 7, two drawer pull-outlimiting members 66 are disposed in the rear panel 60 of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20. The drawer pull-out limiting members 66 limit thepull out distance of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 from thechassis 12. Flanges 69 are provided as part of the rear panel 60 to ridealong the inside of the chassis 12 as the fiber optic equipment drawer20 is pulled out from the chassis 12. The drawer pull-out limitingmembers 66 each include tabs 68 that are configured to also engage withlances 88 disposed in the chassis 12. Once the tabs 68 engage with thelances 88, the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is prevented from furtherextending out from the chassis 12. One or more than two drawer pull-outlimiting members 66 may also be provided. More detail regarding thedrawer pull-out limiting members 66 in this embodiment is describedbelow with regard to FIGS. 10A-10B.

With continuing reference to FIG. 7, the front panel 58 and rear panel60 in this embodiment allow the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 to betilted downward when pulled out from the chassis 12. The front panel 58is configured to tilt about the rear panel 60 and the chassis 12 via ahinge 70 formed and disposed between the front panel 58 and the rearpanel 60. Any fiber optic equipment, including fiber optic equipmenttrays 22 and fiber optic modules 26 disposed in the front panel 58, willalso tilt downward as a result of the front panel 58 being tilteddownward. The flanges 69 provided as part of the rear panel 60 eachcontain a tilt limiting member 72 to limit the downward tilting of thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 about the rear panel 60 and the chassis12. One or more than two tilt drawer limiting members 72 may also beprovided. More detail regarding the tilting ability of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 and the drawer tilt limiting members 72 to limit thetilt angle of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is described belowwith regard to FIGS. 11A-14.

With continuing reference to FIG. 7, the fiber optic equipment drawer 20in this embodiment also includes two tray guides 74 each disposed on aleft side end 76 and a right side end 78 of the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20. The tray guides 74 are disposed on left and right sidemembers 79, 80 disposed generally orthogonally to a base 82 of the frontpanel 58. The tray guides 74 are configured to receive one or more fiberoptic equipment trays 22 each supporting one or more fiber optic modules22, as previously discussed and illustrated in FIG. 6. The tray guides74 in this embodiment are comprised of a plurality of tray rail guides84 each configured to receive a tray rail of a fiber optic equipmenttray 22. In this manner, the fiber optic equipment trays 22 can be movedin and out of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 by moving the trayrails about the tray rail guides 84. More detail regarding the trayguides 74 included in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 to supportfiber optic equipment trays 22 is described below with regard to FIGS.15-20.

FIGS. 8A-9B illustrate more detail regarding the drawer retentionmembers 62 disposed in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. The drawerretention members 62 retain the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 in thechassis 12 when retracted in the chassis 12. FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrateside and perspective cross-section views, respectively, of one drawerretention member 62 and the surrounding front panel 58 of the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20 and chassis 12 when the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 is refracted and retained in the chassis 12. As illustrated,the emboss 64 is disposed on the raised section 65 of the front panel 58on the left side end 76 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. Notethat another emboss 64 not illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B is alsodisposed on the right side end 78 of the fiber optic equipment drawer20, as illustrated in FIG. 6. In FIGS. 8A and 8B, the emboss 64 islocated on a rearward side 86 of a lance 88 retaining the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 in the chassis 12. The lance 88 is disposed in thechassis 12 to protrude above the chassis 12 adjacent to a bottom side 89of the front panel 58. When it is desired to pull the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 out from the chassis 12, a pulling force can beapplied such that the emboss 64 will be pulled into the lance 88. Withenough pulling force, the emboss 64 will drag across the lance 88raising the front panel 58 over the lance 88 until the emboss 64 ispulled on a frontward side 90 of the lance 88, as illustrated in FIGS.9A-9B. The fiber optic equipment drawer 20 will thereafter be releasedfrom the chassis 12. In this embodiment, optional keys 92 are cut intothe emboss 64 to reduce the pulling force necessary for the emboss 64 toclear the interference with the lances 88. The keys 92 can also serve tointerfere with the lances 88 to retain the fiber optic equipment drawer20 in a closed position. Also note in this embodiment, the embosses 64are disposed in the raised sections 65 of the front panel 58 so thefront panel 58 is clear of interference with the lances 88 when thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 is pulled out from the chassis 12.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate top and bottom perspective, close-up views ofthe drawer retention member 62 when the fiber optic equipment drawer 20has been pulled outward from the chassis 12. After the emboss 64 islocated on the frontward side 90 of the lance 88, the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 is free to be pulled out from the chassis 12. Inthis embodiment, the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is limited to acertain pull out distance. In this regard, FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrateone of two drawer pull-out limiting members 66 provided in the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20. The illustrated drawer pull-out limitingmember 66 is disposed on the left side end 76 of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20. Note that another pull out drawer pull-out limitingmember 66 not illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B is also disposed on theright side end 78 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20, as illustratedin FIG. 6. FIG. 10A is a front perspective view of the drawer pull-outlimiting member 66 disposed in the rear panel 60 of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 just prior to the fiber optic equipment drawer 20being fully extended from the chassis 12. As illustrated, the tab 68disposed in the rear panel 60 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 isaligned with the lance 88 disposed in the chassis 12. The front and rearpanels 58, 60 sit above the chassis 12 and are free to move about thechassis 12 once the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is released from thedrawer retention member 62. However, the lance 88 is disposed about thechassis 12 in the travel plane TP of the tab 68. When the rear panel 60is almost fully extended as illustrated in FIG. 10A, the tab 68 isconfigured to enter an opening 94 disposed in the lance 88. The rearpanel 60 and thus the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is prevented fromextending out further from the chassis 12 once the tab 68 is fullyengaged with the opening 94 in the lance 88, as illustrated in FIG. 10B.In this manner, the tab 68 and lance 88 provide the drawer pull-outlimiting member 66 to limit the pull out distance of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20.

FIGS. 11A-14 illustrate tilt and tilt limiting features of the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20 according to one embodiment. FIGS. 11A and 11Billustrate the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 pulled out from thechassis 12 and tilted downward about the chassis 12. As previouslydiscussed, tilting the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 downward canprovide enhanced access to the fiber optic equipment trays 22 and thefiber optic modules 26 disposed in the fiber optic equipment trays 22and/or their fiber optic connections. FIG. 11A illustrates a frontperspective view of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 pulled out fromthe chassis 12 and tilted downward. FIG. 11B is a side view of theorientation of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 illustrated in FIG.11A. In this embodiment, the front panel 58 can tilt downward about therear panel 60. The rear panel 60 remains oriented in a plane parallel orsubstantially parallel to the chassis 12. Because the fiber opticequipment trays 22 and fiber optic modules 26 contained therein aredisposed in the front panel 58, tilting of the front panel 58 also tiltsthe fiber optic equipment trays 22 and fiber optic modules 26 foraccess.

The fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is configured to tilt downward viathe hinge 70 disposed between the front panel 58 and the rear panel 60of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 in this embodiment. The hinge 70is formed by rolled portions 98 on a front end 100 of the rear panel 60interleaved with rolled portions 102 on a rear end 104 of the frontpanel 58. When interleaved, the rolled portions 98, 102 form a passage(not shown) therebetween extending from the left side end 76 to theright side end 78 of the front and rear panels 58, 60. A rod (not shown)is extended through a passage 106 (FIG. 11B) to maintain the rolledportions 98, 102 interleaved together to provide the hinge 70. When thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 is pulled out such that the front panel58 is pulled out beyond the chassis 12, the front panel 58 is free totilt downward about the hinge 70. The tilt angle is controlled by drawertilt limiting members 72 as illustrated in FIGS. 12-14 and describedbelow.

FIG. 12 illustrates a front perspective view of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 tilted downward without installed fiber opticequipment trays 22 and fiber optic modules 26. As illustrated therein,the tilt angle of the front panel 58 of the fiber optic equipment drawer20 is limited by the drawer tilt limiting members 72 and the flanges 69.FIGS. 13A-13C illustrate the drawer tilting limiting members 72 in moredetail. As illustrated in FIGS. 13A-13C, the illustrated drawer tiltlimiting member 72 is provided on the left side end 76 of the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20. Note that another drawer tilt limiting member72 not illustrated in FIGS. 13A-13C is also disposed on the right sideend 78 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20, as illustrated in FIG.12.

FIG. 13A is a top perspective close-up view of the drawer tilt limitingmember 72 when the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is fully pulled outfrom the chassis 12, but the front panel 58 is not yet tilted. Thedrawer tilt limiting member 72 includes a limiting member 110 fixedlyattached or provided as a part of the front panel 58 as a single partand arranged orthogonal or substantially orthogonal to the base 82 (FIG.7) of the front panel 58. The limiting member 110 contains an angle 112disposed in a top surface 114 of the limiting member 110. A key 116 isdisposed on an end section 118 of the limiting member 110 adjacent theangle 112. When the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is pulled out fullysuch that the tab 68 is engaged with the lance 88 (FIG. 11A), the frontpanel 58 can tilt downward about the hinge 70. When the front panel 58is tilted downward, the hinge 70 provides a fulcrum such that thelimiting member 110 moves upward towards the flange 69. The tilt angleof the front panel 58 is limited by the angle 112 in the limiting member110 and flange 69. The angle 112 in the limiting member 110 willeventually come into planar or substantially planar contact with abottom side 120 of the flange 69, as illustrated in FIGS. 13B and 13C,to prevent further tilting of the front panel 58. FIG. 13C illustrates abottom perspective view of the drawer tilt limiting member 72 of FIG.13B.

To prevent the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 from inadvertently beingpushed back into the chassis 12 when tilted, a notch 122 is disposed inthe flange 69 as part of the drawer tilt limiting member 72. The notch122 is configured to receive the key 116 disposed in the limiting member110. When the key 116 is received in the notch 122, the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 cannot be pushed back into the chassis 12. When itis desired to retract the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 back into thechassis 12, a force is applied to pull up the front panel 58 to reducethe tilt angle thereby pushing the key 116 downward and out of the notch122. While continuing to pull or hold up the front panel 58, the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20 is free to be pushed back into the chassis 12.In this embodiment, the drawer tilt limiting members 72 are not providedas part of the chassis 12. The drawer tilt limiting members 72 areprovided as part of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 in both thefront panel 58 and the rear panel 60. In this manner, the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 is not required to provide a fixed connection orlinkage to the chassis 12. This may be advantageous to provideflexibility and reduced complexity, including in the installation of thefiber optic equipment drawers 20 in the chassis 12. The drawer tiltlimiting members 72 are not required to be limited to the fiber opticequipment drawer 20.

As discussed above, the key 116 and the angle 112 disposed in the tiltlimiting member 72 limits the tilting of the front panel 58 about therear panel 60 in the embodiments of FIG. 13A-13C. It may also be desiredto provide an additional tilt limiting member to provide supplementaltilt limiting of the front panel 58 about the rear panel 60. In thisregard, FIGS. 13D and 13E are close-up, bottom perspective views of thetilt limiting member 72 of FIGS. 13A-13C, but further including anoptional slot 91 disposed in the limiting member 110. The slot 91 isconfigured to further limit the tilt angle of the front panel 58. Thefront panel 58 illustrated in FIG. 13D is not tilted. The front panel 58illustrated in FIG. 13E is tilted. In this regard, a pin 93 is attachedto and extends outward from the flange 69 in this embodiment. The pin 93is configured to engage with the slot 91 disposed in the limiting member110 when the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is assembled. The slot 91confines the boundary of movement of the pin 93, and thus also limitstilting of the front panel 58 about the rear panel 60 since the pin 93is attached to the flange 69, which is part of the rear panel 60.

The slot 91 is radial in shape such that the pin 93 moves along theradius of the slot thus allowing the front panel 58 to tilt. The radiallength R₁ of the slot 91, as illustrated in FIGS. 13D and 13E, controlsthe maximum tilt angle of the front panel 58 in addition to the angle112 disposed in the limiting member 110. Note that the limiting member110 does not require the slot 91 and pin 93 arrangement discussed hereinto limit the tilt angle of the front panel 58. Further, the slot 91 andpin 93 arrangement could be provided in the fiber optic equipment drawer20 in lieu of the key 116 and angle 112 disposed in the limiting member110 arrangement.

As previously discussed above, the flanges 69 are provided as part ofthe rear panel 60 to ride along the inside of the chassis 12 as thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 is pulled out from the chassis 12. Theflanges 69 provided as part of the rear panel 60 each contain the tiltlimiting members 72 to limit the downward tilting of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 about the rear panel 60 and the chassis 12. As theflanges 69 ride inside the chassis 12, the flanges 69 may move inward oroutward from the rear panel 60, and splay with regard to the front panel58. In this regard, optional control plate 95 may be provided asillustrated in FIGS. 13G-13L and discussed in more detail below.

FIGS. 13F and 13G are front and rear perspective views, respectively, ofthe fiber optic equipment drawer 20 of FIG. 7. The limiting members 110of FIGS. 13D and 13E are disposed between the flange 69 and the controlplate 95. The control plate 95 is configured to provide splay controlfor the flanges 69 as they move about the chassis 12. Thus, the controlplates 95 provide splay control to prevent or reduce splaying of therear panel 60 with regard to the front panel 58. Providing splay controlmay provide further stability between the fiber optic equipment drawer20 and the chassis 12. FIGS. 13H-13L illustrate more detail regardingembodiments of the controls plates 95 and will be described below.

FIGS. 13H and 13I are close-up, left and right perspective views,respectively, of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 and the tiltlimiting member 72 in FIGS. 13F and 13G. FIGS. 13H and 13I illustrate anexample of how the control plate 95 can be attached to the flanges 69attached to the rear panel 60. FIG. 13H illustrates the control plate 95in outline form so that the relationship of the control plate 95 to thelimiting member 110 and the flange 69 can be easily viewed. FIG. 13Iillustrates how the control plate 95 can be attached to the flange 69 inthis embodiment. In this embodiment, the control plate 95 is attached tothe flange 69 such that the limiting member 110 is disposed between thecontrol plate 95 and the flange 69. If the limiting member 110 movesoutward from the flange 69, such as when the front and rear panels 58,60 are moving about the chassis 12, the control plate 95 will limitmovement of the flange 69 in this direction. In this regard, the controlplate 95 controls splaying of the rear panel 60 and thus the front panel58. The flange 69 will limit the movement of the limiting member 110 inthe inward direction.

As illustrated in FIGS. 13H and 13I, the control plate 95 contains aplurality of standoff receptacles 97 in this embodiment. The standoffreceptacles 97 are configured to provide a gap G₁ between the controlplate 95 and the flange 69, as illustrated in FIG. 13J illustrating thecontrol plate 95, limiting member 110, and flange 69 in a side view. Thecontrol plate 95 is secured to the flange 69 via fasteners 99 disposedthrough orifices 101 in the flange 69 in this embodiment. This isfurther illustrated in the close-up, right and left perspective views ofFIGS. 13K and 13J, respectively. As illustrated therein, the controlplate 95 is attached to the flange 69 such that the limiting member 110is disposed therebetween. With reference back to FIG. 13I, the standoffprovided by the standoff receptacles 97 maintains the gap G₁ between thecontrol plate 95 and the flange 69 so that the limiting member 110, andthus the front panel 58, is free to tilt downward and be returned in anon-tilting configuration. The gap G₁ can be controlled to provide thedesired splay control. For example, in one embodiment, the gap G₁ may be0.065 inches. As illustrated in FIG. 13J, the width W₁ of the limitingmember 110, may be desired to be less than the gap G₁ so the limitingmember 110 is free to rotate when the front panel 58 is tilted. Forexample, the width W₁ of the limiting member 110 may be 0.060 inches.Note that the control plate 95 is not required to be provided in thefiber optic equipment drawer 20. The control plate 95 can also beprovided regardless of whether the slots 91 are provided in the limitingmembers 110.

Another feature of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is support of oneor more fiber optic equipment trays 22 which are each configured tosupport one or more fiber optic modules 26. In this embodiment, thefront panel 58 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 supports the fiberoptic equipment trays 22. As illustrated in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20 is configured so that each fiber opticequipment tray 22 can be independently moved about the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 to provide enhanced access to the fiber opticmodules 26 supported therein. FIG. 14A illustrates a perspective view ofthe fiber optic equipment drawer 20 with one fiber optic equipment tray22 pulled out from the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 to provide accessto the fiber optic modules 26 contained therein. FIG. 14B illustrates aclose-up view of FIG. 14A. More detail regarding the fiber opticequipment trays 22 and their retention in and pull out features from thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 are described below and illustrated inmore detail in FIGS. 15-20.

FIG. 15 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment tray 22removed from the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 and without installedfiber optic modules 26. As illustrated therein, the fiber opticequipment tray 22 contains a plurality of module guides 124 in the formof module rail guides 126 that support fiber optic modules 26 (notshown). As illustrated in right and left side perspective views in FIGS.16A and 16B, the fiber optic modules 26 contain module rails 128A, 128Bon each side 129A, 129B in this embodiment. The module rails 128A, 128Bare configured to be inserted into tray channels 130 (FIG. 15) disposedwithin the module rail guides 126, as illustrated in FIG. 17. Asillustrated in FIG. 15, the module rail guides 126 are disposed in a rowarrangement if at least one intermediate module rail guide 126′ isdisposed in the fiber optic equipment tray 22. Fiber optic modules 26can be independently moved within the module rail guides 126, 126′ inthe fiber optic equipment tray 22 either towards a front end 132 or arear end 134 of the fiber optic equipment tray 22. Support members 135may also be disposed in the fiber optic equipment trays 22 to supportthe weight of fiber optic modules 26 disposed in and between the modulerail guides 126, 126′. The module rail guides 126, 126′ will be referredto collectively hereinafter as element 126.

Note that in the fiber optic equipment tray 22 of FIG. 15, five (5)module rail guides 126 are provided to support up to four (4) fiberoptic modules 26 therebetween. The module rail guides 126 are configuredsuch that the tray channels 130 are open on both the front end 132 andthe rear end 134 of the fiber optic equipment trays 22 as illustrated inFIG. 18. This allows the fiber optic modules 26 to be eitherfront-installable from the front end 132 or rear-installable from therear end 134 into the fiber optic equipment trays 22, and thusinstallable from either the front or the rear of the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 and the chassis 12. Providing the capability ofeither front-installable or rear-installable fiber optic modules 26 maybe advantageous in allowing a technician to more easily install fiberoptic modules 26 in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 and establishfiber optic connections therewith more efficiently and conveniently. Forexample, fiber optic modules 26 can be inserted into the rear end 134 ofthe fiber optic equipment tray 22 in the module rail guides 126 andpushed forward within the module rail guides 126 until the fiber opticmodules 26 reach a front end 132 of each fiber optic equipment tray 22.A locking feature can be provided to prevent the fiber optic module 26from extending beyond the front end 132 of the fiber optic equipmenttrays 22 unless a release is engaged. In this manner, the fiber opticmodules 26 can be installed from the rear of the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 and chassis 12, but can also be extended and removed from thefront end 132 of the fiber optic equipment tray 22.

As illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 17, the fiber optic equipment tray 22also contains tray rails 136. The tray rails 136 are configured to bereceived in the tray guides 74 disposed in the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 (FIG. 6) to retain and allow the fiber optic equipment trays22 to move about the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. The fiber opticequipment trays 22 can be moved in and out of the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 by their tray rails 136 moving within the tray guides 74. Inthis manner, the fiber optic equipment trays 22 can be independentlymovable about the tray guides 74 in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20.More detail regarding the tray rails 136 and their coupling to the trayguides 74 in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 is discussed below withregard to FIGS. 19A-21.

With continuing reference to FIGS. 15 and 17, the fiber optic equipmenttray 22 may also contain extension members 138. Routing guides 150 maybe conveniently disposed on the extension members 138 to provide routingfor optical fibers or fiber optic cables connected to fiber opticadapters 152 in the fiber optic modules 26 (FIG. 17). The routing guides150′ on the ends of the fiber optic equipment tray 22 may be angled withrespect to the tray rails 136 to route optical fibers or fiber opticcables at an angle to the sides of the fiber optic equipment tray 22.Pull tabs 154 may also be connected to the extension members 138 toprovide a means to allow the fiber optic equipment tray 22 to easily bepulled out from and pushed into the fiber optic equipment drawer 20.

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate an example of a fiber optic module 26 thatcan supported in the fiber optic equipment tray 22 to provide fiberoptic connections in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. FIG. 16Aillustrates a right perspective view of the fiber optic module 26. FIG.16B illustrates a left perspective view of the fiber optic module 26. Asillustrated therein, the fiber optic module 26 is comprised of a numberof fiber optic adapters 152 disposed on a front end 156 of the fiberoptic module 26. In this example, the fiber optic adapters 152 acceptduplex LC fiber optic connectors. However, any fiber optic connectiontype desired can be provided in the fiber optic modules 26. Anotherfiber optic adapter 158 is disposed on a rear end 160 of the fiber opticmodule 26. In this example, the fiber optic adapter 158 is a multi-fiberMTP fiber optic adapter equipped to establish connections to multipleoptical fibers (e.g., twelve (12) optical fibers). The fiber opticmodule 26 may also manage polarity between the fiber optic adapters 152disposed on the front end 156 of the fiber optic module 26 and the fiberoptic adapter 158 disposed on the rear end 160 of the fiber optic module26.

Module rails 128A, 128B are disposed on each side 129A, 129B of thefiber optic module 26. The module rails 128A, 128B are configured to beinserted within the module rail guides 126 in the fiber optic equipmenttray 22, as previously discussed and illustrated in FIG. 17. In thismanner, when it is desired to install a fiber optic module 26 in thefiber optic equipment tray 22, the front end 156 of the fiber opticmodule 26 can be inserted from either the front end 132 or the rear end134 of the fiber optic equipment tray 22. For example, the front end 156of module rails 128A, 128B of the fiber optic module 26 can be insertedinto module rail guides 126 starting from the rear end 134 of the fiberoptic equipment trays 22. In this manner, the fiber optic module 26 canbe rear-installed in the fiber optic equipment tray 22 and the fiberoptic equipment drawer 20. The fiber optic module 26 can then be pushedforward within the module rail guides 126 until the fiber optic module26 reaches the front end 132 of the fiber optic equipment trays 22. Inthis manner, a technician can install a fiber optic connection to thefiber optic adapter 158 disposed on the rear end 160 of the fiber opticmodule 26 and can then install the fiber optic module 26 from the rearof the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 into the fiber optic equipmenttray 22.

FIG. 18 illustrates a rear perspective view of the fiber optic modules26 installed in fiber optic equipment trays 22 and the module railguides 126 disposed therein. As illustrated therein, when the fiberoptic module 26 is installed in the tray channel 130 of the module railguides 126 from the rear end 134 of the fiber optic equipment tray 22,the module rails 128A, 128B of the fiber optic module 26 can then bemoved towards the front end 132 until the fiber optic module 26 reachesa stop or locking feature disposed in the front end 132. A lockingfeature in the form of a latch 166 (FIGS. 16A and 16B) engages acomplementary detent disposed in the tray channel 130 of the module railguides 126. The latch 166 is inwardly biased such that the fiber opticmodule 26 can be installed in the module rail guides 126, but cannot bepulled back towards the rear section 134 until the latch 166 isdisengaged.

If it is desired to remove the fiber optic module 26 from the fiberoptic equipment tray 22, the fiber optic module 26 can be removed fromeither the front end 132 or the rear end 134 of the fiber opticequipment tray 22. To remove the fiber optic module 26 from the rear end132 of the fiber optic equipment tray 22, the latch 166 is disengaged bypushing a lever 168 (FIGS. 16A and 16B) inward towards the fiber opticmodule 26 to release the latch 166 from the module rail guide 126. Tofacilitate pushing the lever 168 inward towards the fiber optic module26, a finger hook 170 is provided adjacent to the lever 168 so the lever168 can easily be squeezed into the finger hook 170.

The fiber optic module 26 can be locked into place in the fiber opticequipment tray 22 by pushing the fiber optic module 26 forward to thefront end 132 of the fiber optic equipment tray 22. As illustrated inFIG. 17, a locking feature in the form of a front stop 171 disposed inthe module rail guides 126. The front stop 171 prevents the fiber opticmodule 26 from extending beyond the front end 132. When it is desired toremove a fiber optic module 26 from the fiber optic equipment tray 22, afront module tab 173 also disposed in the module rail guides 126 andcoupled to the front stop 171 can be pushed downward to engage the frontstop 171. As a result, the front stop 171 will move outward away fromthe fiber optic module 26 such that the fiber optic modules 22 are notobstructed from being pulled forward. The fiber optic module 26, and inparticular its module rails 128A, 128B (FIGS. 16A and 16B), can bepulled forward along the module rail guides 126 to remove the fiberoptic module 26 from the fiber optic equipment tray 22.

As previously discussed and illustrated in FIG. 7, the tray guides 74are disposed in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 to allow fiber opticequipment trays 22 to be supported in the fiber optic equipment drawer20. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 15, the tray rails 136attached or provided as part of the fiber optic equipment tray 22 areconfigured to be received by the tray guides 74 to allow the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 to support fiber optic equipment trays 22. The trayguides 74 allow the fiber optic equipment trays 22 to be moved in andout of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 for enhanced access to fiberoptic modules 26 supported by the fiber optic equipment trays 22. FIGS.19A and 19B illustrate more detail regarding the exemplary tray guides74 disposed in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20.

FIGS. 19A and 19B illustrate left and right perspective views of thetray guide 74 disposed in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20 to supportup to two (2) tray rails 136 in a 1-U space. FIGS. 19C and 19Dillustrate left and right perspective views of another embodiment of atray guide 74′ that may be employed to support up to three (3) trayrails 136 per 1-U space, as will be later described and illustrated withregard to FIGS. 33A-35. The tray guides 74, 74′ contain like featuresand thus the description below with regard to tray guide 74 in FIGS. 19Aand 19B is equally applicable to the tray guide 74′ of FIGS. 19C and19D. Like features or elements between tray guides 74, 74′ areillustrated with common element numbers, except that such features intray guide 74′ will be appended with an apostrophe (').

As discussed above, the tray guides 74 are configured to receive fiberoptic equipment trays 22 supporting one or more fiber optic modules 26in the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. The tray guides 74 allow thefiber optic equipment trays 22 to be pulled out from the chassis 12, asillustrated in FIG. 14B. With continuing reference to FIGS. 19A and 19B,the tray guide 74 in this embodiment is comprised of a guide panel 180.The guide panel 180 is comprised of an elongated member 181. The guidepanel 180 may be constructed out of any material desired, including butnot limited to a polymer or metal. The guide panel 180 contains a seriesof apertures 182 to facilitate attachment of the guide panel 180 to thefiber optic equipment drawer 20, as illustrated in FIG. 12. Guidemembers 184 are disposed in the guide panel 180 and configured toreceive the tray rail 136 of the fiber optic equipment tray 22, asillustrated in the cross-section diagram in FIG. 20. Three (3) guidemembers 184 are disposed in the guide panel 180 in the embodiment ofFIGS. 19A and 19B to be capable of receiving up to three (3) tray rails136 of three (3) fiber optic equipment trays 22. However, any number ofguide members 184 desired may be provided. In this embodiment, the guidemembers 184 each include guide channels 186 configured to receive andallow tray rails 136 to move along the guide channels 186 fortranslation of the fiber optic equipment trays 22 about the fiber opticequipment drawer 20.

Leaf springs 188 are disposed in each of the guide members 184 of thetray guide 74 and are each configured to provide stopping positions forthe tray rails 136 during movement of the fiber optic equipment tray 22in the guide members 184. The leaf springs 188 are disposed between ends189 disposed in the guide member 184 to give the leaf springs 188 springaction. The leaf springs 188 each contain protrusions 190 that areconfigured to be received in detents 192 (FIG. 21A and 21B) disposed inthe tray rails 136 to provide stopping or resting positions. The trayrails 136 contain mounting platforms 194 that are used to attach thetray rails 136 to the fiber optic equipment trays 22. It may bedesirable to provide stopping positions in the tray guide 74 to allowthe fiber optic equipment trays 22 to have stopping positions when movedin and out of the fiber optic equipment drawer 20. Stopping positionsallow the requirement of a technician to impart a certain force to pullor push the fiber optic equipment tray 22 about the guide panel 180 sothat the fiber optic equipment tray 22 is retained in place when notpulled or pushed. However, the force can also be designed to allow atechnician to easily push in or pull out the fiber optic equipment tray22 into and from the guide panel 180 when desired, especially when thefiber optic equipment tray 22 is located above the technician. In thisregard and by example, two (2) detents 192 in the tray rail 136 receivetwo (2) protrusions 190 in the tray guide 74 at any given time. When thefiber optic equipment tray 22 is fully retracted into the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 in a first stopping position, the two (2) detents192 of the tray rail 136 are received in the one protrusion 190 adjacenta rear end 196 of the guide channel 186 and the middle protrusion 190disposed between the rear end 196 and a front end 198 of the guidechannel 186. When the fiber optic equipment tray 22 is pulled out fromthe fiber optic equipment drawer 20, the two (2) detents 192 of the trayrail 136 are received in the one protrusion 190 adjacent the front end198 of the guide channel 186 and the middle protrusion 190 disposedbetween the rear end 196 and the front end 198 of the guide channel 186.Thus, the stopping or resting positions provided by the engagement ofthe protrusions 190 of the leaf springs 188 with the detents 192 of thetray rail 136 in this embodiment are provided to require force on theguide panel 180 to overcome the stopping position to translate the trayrail 136 of a fiber optic equipment tray 22 disposed within the guidemember 184.

In this embodiment, each leaf spring 188 is designed to requireapproximately two (2) pounds (lbs.) of pulling force to allow theprotrusion 190 in the leaf spring 188 to overcome the detent 192disposed in the tray rail 136 for a total of four (4) lbs. pulling force(i.e., two (2) detents 192 in the tray rail 136 are engaged with two (2)protrusions 190 disposed in two (2) leaf springs 188). The pulling forcerequired to overcome the engagement of the protrusion 190 in the detents192 could be designed to be any pulling force desired. For example, thepulling force required to overcome the engagement of the protrusion 190in the detents 192 could be designed to be greater than the pullingforce required to engage or disengage a fiber optic connector from afiber optic module 26 supported by the fiber optic equipment tray 22.However, the pulling force required to overcome the engagement of theprotrusion 190 in the detents 192 could be designed to be less than thepulling force required to clear interference with the lances 88 when thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 is pulled out from the chassis 12 (FIGS.8A and 8B). The leaf springs 188 in this embodiment are designed to eachprovide the same force, but such does not have to be the case. Further,the guide panel 180 and tray rail 136 could be designed to provide fewerstopping positions or only provide that one protrusion 190 is engagedwith one detent 192 in each stopping or resting position.

When the tray rail 136 is in a stopped position, two (2) protrusions 190disposed in two (2) leaf springs 188 are engaged with two (2)protrusions in the tray rail 136, as previously discussed. In thisembodiment, when the tray rail 136 is in a stopping position, the leafsprings 188 and their protrusions 190 and the complimentary detents 192in the tray rail 136 are designed cooperatively such that the detents192 do not impart a force on the protrusions 190. Thus, the leaf springs188 are in an unstressed state when the tray rail 136 is in a stoppedposition. This may be advantageous if the leaf springs 188 are made outof a material, such as a polymer material for example, where creep canoccur over time, thus reducing the effectiveness of the leaf spring 188over time. However, this feature is not a requirement for the design.

As the tray rail 136 is pulled within the guide channel 186, aprotrusion 200 disposed in the tray rail 136 and illustrated in FIGS.21A and 21B is biased to pass over transition members 202 disposedbetween the leaf springs 188, as illustrated in FIG. 19A. The protrusion200 is provided in a leaf spring 204 disposed in the tray rail 136, asillustrated in FIGS. 21A and 21B. The transition members 202 haveinclined surfaces 205 that allow the protrusion 200 to pass over thetransition members 202 as the fiber optic equipment tray 22 is beingtranslated within the guide channel 186. As the protrusion 200 containsthe transition members 202, the force imparted onto the protrusion 200causes the leaf spring 204 to bend inward to allow the protrusion 200 topass over the transition member 202. To prevent the tray rail 136 andthus the fiber optic equipment tray 22 from being extended beyond thefront end 198 and rear end 196 of the guide channel 186, stoppingmembers 206 are disposed at the front end 198 and rear end 196 of theguide channel 186. The stopping members 206 do not have an inclinedsurface; thus, the protrusion 200 in the tray rail 136 abuts against thestopping member 206 and is prevented from extending over the stoppingmember 206 and outside of the front end 198 of the guide channel 186.

Now that the fiber optic equipment drawer 20, fiber optic equipmenttrays 22 and fiber optic modules 26 have been described, other featuresthat may be included in the fiber optic equipment 10 are now described.For example, FIG. 22 illustrates a rear perspective view of the fiberoptic equipment 10 and chassis 12 of FIG. 1 configured to receive anoptional rear cover 220. The rear cover 220 can be employed to protectfurcated cables (not shown) disposed in a rear area 222 of the chassis12. As illustrated in FIG. 22, a number of apertures 224 may be disposedin a raised area 226 in the rear area 222 of the chassis 12 to supportsecuring furcations of trunk cables (not shown) coming into the chassis12. Trunk cables are run to the chassis 12 to establish fiber opticconnection with fiber optic modules 26 disposed in the fiber opticequipment drawer 20. The rear cover 220 contains overlapping members 228that are configured to be received into a rear end 230 of the frontchassis cover 24 to be secured to the chassis 12, as illustrated in FIG.23. The rear cover 220 can protect furcations connected to the raisedarea 226. To secure the rear cover 230 to the front chassis cover 24,the rear cover 230 may also include plungers 232 or other fastenerdevices in a rear panel 234 of the rear cover 230. The plungers 232engage with plunger receivers 236 disposed in flaps 238 in the rear area222 of the chassis 12 to secure the rear cover 220 to the front chassiscover 24 and chassis 12.

The embodiments described herein are not limited to the fiber opticequipment drawer 20 described above. Some or all of the features in thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 may be provided in other drawers,chassis, or other fiber optic equipment to support fiber optic modulesand access thereto. For example, FIGS. 24-32B illustrate an alternateembodiment of fiber optic equipment that includes a fiber opticequipment drawer configured to support one or more fiber optic equipmenttrays each configured to support one or more fiber optic modules. Inthis regard, FIG. 24 illustrates alternative exemplary fiber opticequipment 310 in this regard. The exemplary fiber optic equipment 310may be provided at a data distribution center or central office tosupport cable-to-cable fiber optic connections and to manage a pluralityof fiber optic cable connections. The fiber optic equipment 310 includesa fiber optic equipment chassis 312 (“chassis 312”). The chassis 312 isconfigured to be installed in a fiber optic equipment rack if desired,such as the fiber optic equipment rack 14 previously discussed andillustrated in FIG. 1. The chassis 312 illustrated in FIG. 24 is1U-size, but could be designed to be any other U-size desired, with “U”equaling a standard 1.75 inches in height, or any other height desired.

As illustrated in FIG. 24 and discussed in greater detail below in thisdescription, the chassis 312 includes a fiber optic equipment drawer 320supporting one or more extendable fiber optic equipment trays 322. Thefiber optic equipment trays 322 are configured to support one or morefiber optic modules (not shown). The fiber optic equipment trays 322 inthis embodiment are the same or essentially the same as the fiber opticequipment trays 22 previously discussed and illustrated in FIGS. 14A-15and 17. The fiber optic modules supported by the fiber optic equipmenttrays 322 can be the same or essentially the same as the fiber opticmodules 26 previously discussed and illustrated in FIGS. 16A and 16B.The fiber optic equipment trays 322 can be moved and extended from thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 and retracted back into the fiber opticequipment drawer 320. Any number of fiber optic equipment trays 322 canbe provided. Any number of fiber optic modules can be supported by thefiber optic equipment trays 322. The view of the fiber optic equipmenttrays 322 in FIG. 24 is obstructed by a front chassis cover 324 placedin front of the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 as part of the chassis312. The front chassis cover 324 is attached to a rear chassis cover 325to form a cover over the chassis 312. Latch orifices 351 are disposed inthe front chassis cover 324 to support a drawer door locking mechanismemploying push buttons 350 in this embodiment to lock a drawer door 328to the front chassis cover 324, as will be described in more detailbelow. The fiber optic equipment drawer 320 is extendable out from thechassis 312 to access the fiber optic equipment trays 322 and the fiberoptic modules supported therein.

In the example of the fiber optic equipment 310 in FIG. 24, two fiberoptic equipment trays 322 are supported by the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 320 with each fiber optic equipment tray 322 supporting four (4)fiber optic modules. Each fiber optic module can support any number ofoptical fiber connections. If the fiber optic modules included in thefiber optic equipment trays 322 support twelve (12) optical fiberconnections, a total of up to ninety-six (96) optical fiber connectionscan be provided by the fiber optic equipment drawer 320, although thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 is not limited to this density.

FIGS. 25A and 25B are provided to summarize certain capabilities andfeatures of the fiber optic equipment 310 and fiber optic equipmentdrawer 320 of FIG. 24. Embodiments of these capabilities and featureswill be described in more detail in this description. FIG. 25A is afront perspective view of the chassis 312 and fiber optic equipmentdrawer 320. FIG. 25B is a side view of the chassis 312 and fiber opticequipment drawer 320. As illustrated in FIG. 25A, the front chassiscover 324 and the rear chassis cover 325 (FIG. 24) are removed from thechassis 312 so that fiber optic modules supported by the fiber opticequipment trays 322 inside the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 can beseen. The fiber optic equipment drawer 320 can be extended out from thechassis 312 to extend fiber optic modules installed in the fiber opticequipment trays 322 out from the chassis 312 to gain access to the fiberoptic modules and the fiber optic connections therein. As illustrated inFIGS. 25A and 25B, the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 is pulled orextended fully from the chassis 312 and tilted downward. The fiber opticequipment drawer 320 can be tilted downward to tilt the fiber opticmodules installed in the fiber optic equipment trays 322 downward ifdesired, as illustrated in FIGS. 25A and 25B. Tilting the fiber opticequipment drawer 320 downward may be particularly useful if the fiberoptic equipment drawer 320 is located at taller heights in a fiber opticequipment rack. The desired fiber optic module to be accessed can befurther separated for enhanced access, if desired, by pulling out thefiber optic equipment tray 322 supporting the fiber optic module fromthe fiber optic equipment drawer 320.

As will be described in more detail below, each fiber optic equipmenttray 322 is also independently translatable from the fiber opticequipment drawer 320, whether or not the fiber optic equipment drawer320 is extended out from the chassis 312 or tilted downward, similar tothat provided in FIG. 2A and 2B as an example. In this manner, enhancedaccess can be provided to the fiber optic modules provided in the fiberoptic equipment trays 322. Access includes installing, configuring,re-configuring, re-installing, and removing the fiber optic modules andthe fiber optic connections provided therein as an example. Further,each fiber optic module installed in a fiber optic equipment tray 322 inthis embodiment can be translated or removed independent from otherfiber optic modules in a given fiber optic equipment tray 322 forfurther access, if desired.

FIGS. 26-32B will now be referenced to describe the various capabilitiesand features of the fiber optic equipment 310 and fiber optic equipmentdrawer 320 of FIG. 24 by example in more detail.

FIG. 26 is a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment 310 andfiber optic equipment drawer 320 of FIG. 24 with the fiber opticequipment drawer 320 fully retracted into the chassis 312. The frontchassis cover 324 and rear chassis cover 325 are removed to facilitatediscussion of the components of and inside the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 320. The fiber optic equipment drawer 320 includes a drawer door328 in this embodiment. The drawer door 328 controls access to the fiberoptic equipment trays 322. The drawer door 328 may also contain labelingthat, for example, can be provided in a label holder 329 to identifyoptical fiber connections made in the fiber optic equipment drawer 320.The drawer door 328 is illustrated as being opened in FIG. 26. When thefiber optic equipment trays 322 are fully retracted into the fiber opticequipment drawer 320, as illustrated in FIG. 26, the drawer door 328 canbe closed and locked to the chassis 312 to close off access to the fiberoptic equipment trays 322. In this embodiment, the drawer door 328 ishingedly attached to a front end 330 of the fiber optic equipment drawer320. In this manner, the drawer door 328 is retained with the fiberoptic equipment drawer 320 when the drawer door 328 is opened, asillustrated in FIG. 26.

To retain the drawer door 328 closed to the chassis 312 in thisembodiment, a drawer door locking mechanism 340 is provided. The drawerdoor locking mechanism 340 is similar to the drawer door lockingmechanism 40 previously discussed and illustrated in FIGS. 3-5. Thedrawer door locking mechanism 340 is configured to releasably retain thedrawer door 328 closed to the chassis 312, and more particularly to thefront chassis cover 324. As illustrated in FIG. 26, two drawer doorlocking mechanisms 340 are provided; one for a left side end 342 and onefor a right side end 344 of the drawer door 328. In this embodiment, thedrawer door locking mechanism 340 is comprised of a push button latch346 like or similar to the push button latch 46 previously discussed andillustrated in FIG. 5. The push button latch 346 is configured to engagea latch 348 with the latch orifice 351 (FIG. 24) disposed in the frontchassis cover 324 to retain the drawer door 328 closed. Push buttonlatches 346 are each disposed in the drawer door 328, one on the leftside end 342 and one on the right side end 344, in this embodiment asillustrated in FIG. 26. Two latch orifices 351 (FIG. 24) are disposed inthe front chassis cover 324 and configured to receive the latches 348 tolock the drawer door 328. The push button latches 346 in this embodimentare spring-loaded such that when a force is not applied to the pushbuttons 350, the latches 348 are biased upward to retain the latches 348engaged with the latch orifices 351 when the drawer door 328 is closed.

When it is desired to pull out one or more of the fiber optic equipmenttrays 322, the drawer door 328 can be unlocked from the front chassiscover 324 and opened. The push buttons 350 are configured to move thelatches 348 downward to overcome the spring-loaded force in the pushbutton latch 346 when a downward force is applied to the push buttons350, like the push buttons 50 previously described and illustrated inFIGS. 3-5. When the push buttons 350 are pushed downward, the latches348 are disengaged from the latch orifices 351 in the front chassiscover 324 to unlock the drawer door 328. The drawer door 328 can then beopened from the front chassis cover 324. When opened, the drawer door328 can swing downward about hinges 332.

As previously discussed, the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 in thefiber optic equipment 310 is configured to be pulled out from thechassis 312 for enhanced access to the fiber optic equipments trays 322and/or to the fiber optic modules contained therein. In this regard,FIG. 27A provides a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment310 and fiber optic equipment drawer 320 of FIG. 24 with the drawer door328 opened and lowered and the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 extendedout from the chassis 312. To further illustrate the fiber opticequipment drawer 320 and its various features and components, a top viewof the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 is illustrated in FIG. 27B. Thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 is configured to provide severalfeatures, some or all which can be provided. In this embodiment, thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 includes a front panel 358 attached toa rear panel 360. The front panel 358 and rear panel 360 may be formedfrom sheet metal or any other form or type of material desired. Thefront panel 358 is configured to support one or more fiber opticequipment trays 322 and fiber optic modules disposed in the fiber opticequipment trays 322, as previously discussed and also illustrated inFIG. 27A.

With continuing reference to FIG. 27B, the fiber optic equipment drawer320 includes two drawer retention members 362 disposed in the frontpanel 358. The two drawer retention members 362 are disposed on a bottomside 363 of the front panel 358 as illustrated in FIG. 28. The drawerretention members 362 are configured to releasably retain the fiberoptic equipment drawer 320 in the chassis 312 until released to releasethe fiber optic equipment drawer 320 from the chassis 312. The fiberoptic equipment drawer 320 can be pulled out from the chassis 312 whenthe drawer retention members 362 are released.

In this embodiment, the drawer retention members 362 are provided in theform of elbow latches 364. The elbow latch 364 contains two elbowsections 364A, 364B in this embodiment. One elbow latch 364 isillustrated in FIG. 28, because only the left side end 342 of the fiberoptic equipment drawer 320 is illustrated. However, note that anotherdrawer retention member 362 and elbow latch 364 are also disposed on thebottom side 363 of the front panel 358 on the right side end 344 of thefiber optic equipment drawer 320. The elbow latches 364 are configuredto align with and interfere with rearward biased latch engagementmembers 368 (FIG. 27B) disposed in the chassis 312 to retain the fiberoptic equipment drawer 320 when retracted into the chassis 312. In thisregard, the elbow sections 364A on each elbow latch 364 will be disposedon rearward sides 386 of the latch engagement members 368 (FIG. 27A) andconfigured to interfere with the latch engagement members 368 to retainthe fiber optic equipment drawer 320 in the chassis 312. When the drawerretention members 362 are released, the elbow latches 364 are pulledinward to clear interference of the latch engagement members 368 withthe elbow sections 364A to allow the elbow sections 364A on each elbowlatch 364 to pass unimpeded past the latch engagement members 368 andinto a forward side 390 of the latch engagement members 368 (FIG. 27A)to allow the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 to be pulled out from thechassis 312.

FIGS. 28-29B illustrate more detail regarding the drawer retentionmembers 362. FIG. 28 illustrates a drawer retention member 362 disposedon the left side end 342 on the bottom side 363 of the front panel 358of the fiber optic equipment drawer 320. FIGS. 29A and 29B areperspective, isolated views of a drawer retention member 362 designed tobe disposed on the right side end 344 of the bottom side 363 of thefront panel 358 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 320. As illustratedin FIG. 28, the drawer retention member 362 includes a drawer pullrelease 369. The drawer pull release 369 is mechanically coupled to theelbow latch 364. When the drawer pull release 369 is pulled, the elbowsections 364A, 364B collapse inward toward outside edges 371 of twoparallel or substantially parallel plate members 373 of the drawerretention members 362. A pin 375 connected to the elbow latch 364 anddisposed in a slot 377 in a plate member 373 limits the pulling distanceof the drawer pull release 369 and thus the distance of collapse to theelbow latch 364. The elbow latch 364 in this embodiment is disposedbetween the plate members 373 so that the elbow latch 364 is free toexpand and retract outside and inside, respectively, from the platemembers 373. When the elbow latch 364 is collapsed, the elbow sections364A of each elbow latch 364 will be able to clear the interference withthe latch engagement member 362 thereby allowing the fiber opticequipment drawer 320 to be released from the chassis 312. In thisembodiment, because two drawer retention members 362 are included in thefiber optic equipment drawer 320, both drawer pull releases 369 of thedrawer retention members 362 are pulled to release the fiber opticequipment drawer 320. However, one drawer retention member 362 could beprovided so only one drawer pull release 369 would need to be pulled torelease the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 from the chassis 312.

A spring 379 can also be included in the elbow latch 364, as illustratedin FIGS. 28-29B. Providing the spring 379 in the elbow latch 364 causesthe elbow latch 364 to be biased outward in an expanded position. Inthis embodiment, the spring 379 is coupled inline to the elbow section364B, but could also be coupled inline to the elbow section 364A, ifdesired. In this embodiment, the spring 379 is coupled between the elbowsection 364B and an orifice 381 disposed in a plate member 373. Anotherspring 383 may also be coupled between the drawer pull release 369 andthe fiber optic equipment drawer 320 as illustrated in FIG. 28. Thespring 383 biases the drawer pull release 369 inward so the drawer pullrelease 369 retracts back towards the fiber optic equipment drawer 320when a pulling force applied to the drawer pull release 369 is released.

After the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 is released from the chassis312 via release of the drawer retention member 362, the fiber opticequipment drawer 320 is free to be pulled out from the chassis 312. Thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 can be retracted in the chassis 312 tolock the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 in the chassis 312. When thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 is retracted, the elbow sections 364Aof each elbow latch 364 will eventually come into contact with the latchengagement members 368 (FIG. 27B). Because the latch engagement members368 are rearward biased, the contact between the latch engagementmembers 368 with the elbow sections 364A as the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 320 is pushed into the chassis 312 will cause the elbow latch 364to collapse inward. The elbow section 364A will thereafter be disposedon the rearward side 386 of the latch engagement members 368 to retainthe fiber optic equipment drawer 320 in the chassis 312.

Another feature that may be provided in the fiber optic equipment drawer320 is a drawer pull-out limiting member to limiting the pull outdistance of the fiber optic equipment drawer 320. FIGS. 30A and 30Billustrate this feature. FIG. 30A is a close-up perspective view of thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 and the front panel 358 and rear panel360 in particular. The rear panel 360 is configured to travel back intothe chassis 312 along travel path TP′ when the front panel 358 isbrought planar to the rear panel 360 and pushed back along travel pathTP′ via linkage members 359 as will be described in more detail below.The front panel 358 is obscuring the view of a drawer pull-out limitingmember 366. FIG. 30B illustrates the perspective view of the fiber opticequipment drawer 320 of FIG. 30A, but with the rear panel 360 removedfor illustration purposes. As illustrated in FIG. 30B, the drawerpull-out limiting member 366 is provided in the form of a plate member367 attached to a base 391 of the chassis 312. A tab member 361, whichis fixedly attached to the bottom side of the rear panel 360, travelsalong the travel path TP′ as the rear panel 360 moves along the travelpath TP′. When the rear panel 360 is pulled out such that the tab member361 enters a keyed section 365 of the plate member 367, the tab member361 will abut the plate member 367 and prevent the rear panel 360 fromextending beyond the keyed section 365, thus preventing the front panel358 from further extending out from the chassis 312.

FIGS. 30B and FIGS. 31A-32B illustrate the movement and tilt mechanismof fiber optic equipment drawer 320. Thus, the tilt mechanism of thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 will be described in detail. Asillustrated in FIGS. 30B and 31A-32B, the fiber optic equipment tray 320is configured to move in and out of the chassis 312 to provide enhancedaccess to the fiber optic equipment trays 322 and any fiber opticmodules (not shown) supported therein. FIG. 31A and 31B illustrate frontand rear perspective views of the fiber optic equipment drawer 320extended out from the chassis 312 with the front panel 358 tilted. Inthis embodiment, the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 moves in and outof the chassis 312 about outer guide members 389 disposed in two drawerrail guides 398 disposed in the base 391 of the chassis 312 asillustrated in FIGS. 31A and 31B. Two complimentary drawer rails 392 arefixedly connected to hinges 393 which are connected to linkage members394, as illustrated in FIGS. 32A and 32B. The linkage members 394 arefixedly attached to a bottom side 395 of the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 320. Movement of the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 appliesforce to the linkage members 394 which in turn apply force on the drawerrails 392 causing them to move inside the drawer rail guides 398, asillustrated in FIG. 30B. The linkage members 394 includes a lower innersection 396 that travels along an inner section 397 of the drawer railguide 398, as illustrated in FIG. 32A, when the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 320 is retracted.

The linkage members 394 also contain outer raised portions 399 so thatthe linkage members 394 do not interfere with the outer guide members389 of the drawer rail guides 398 when the fiber optic equipment drawer320 is retracted into the chassis 312. The drawer rail guides 398 may bemade of sheet metal or other material, such as plastic, or may be ahybrid between a metal and a plastic. For example, the outer guidemembers 389 may be made of plastic with the other portions of the drawerrail guides 398 made of sheet metal.

FIGS. 31A-31B also illustrate tilt and tilt limiting features of thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 according to one embodiment. Aspreviously discussed, tilting the fiber optic equipment drawer 320downward can provide enhanced access to the fiber optic modules disposedin the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 and/or their fiber opticconnections. As illustrated in FIG. 31A, the front panel 358 can tiltdownward about the rear panel 360. The rear panel 360 remains orientedin a plane parallel or substantially parallel to the chassis 312.Because the fiber optic equipment trays 322 are disposed in the frontpanel 358, tilting of the front panel 358 also tilts the fiber opticequipment trays 322 for access.

The fiber optic equipment drawer 320 is configured to tilt downward viathe hinges 393 and a hinge 400 disposed between the front panel 358 andthe rear panel 360 of the fiber optic equipment drawer 320 in thisembodiment. The hinge 400 is formed by rolled portions 401 on a frontend 402 of the rear panel 360 interleaved with rolled portions 403 on arear end 404 of the front panel 358. When interleaved, the rolledportions 401, 403 form the hinge 400 extending from a left side end 376to a right side end 378 of the front and rear panels 358, 360. When thefiber optic equipment drawer 320 is pulled out such that the front panel358 is pulled out beyond the chassis 312, the front panel 358 is free totilt downward about the hinge 400. The tilt angle of the fiber opticequipment drawer 320 is controlled by the interference between the rearend 404 of the front panel 358 with a front end 405 of the chassis 312,as illustrated in FIG. 30A.

FIGS. 33A-35 illustrate another embodiment of fiber optic equipment 410that can include the same or essentially the same fiber optic equipmenttrays 22 previously described above and illustrated to support fiberoptic modules 26. The fiber optic equipment 410 in this embodimentincludes a 4-U sized chassis 412 configured to hold fiber opticequipment trays 22 each supporting one or more fiber optic modules 26.The fiber optic equipment trays 22 and fiber optic modules 26 supportedby the chassis 412 are the same or essentially the same as thosepreviously described above. Thus, the fiber optic equipment trays 22disposed in the chassis 412 and fiber optic modules 26 disposed in thefiber optic equipment trays 22 do not need to be described again. FIG.34A illustrates a front perspective view of the fiber optic equipment410 with a front cover 414 lowered to show the fiber optic equipmenttrays 22 disposed inside the chassis 412. A chassis cover 416 (FIGS. 33Aand 33B) is attached to the chassis 412 to secure the fiber opticequipment trays 22 and fiber optic modules contained therein (notillustrated). FIG. 33B illustrates a side view of the fiber opticequipment 410 illustrated in FIG. 33A. FIG. 34 illustrates the fiberoptic equipment 410 as illustrated in FIG. 33A, but with the chassiscover 416 removed to show the fiber optic equipment trays 22 disposedinside the chassis 412.

The fiber optic modules 26 can be supported in the fiber optic equipmenttrays 22 previously described and illustrated in FIG. 15-18 as anexample. The fiber optic equipment trays 22 can support one or morefiber optic modules like or similar to the fiber optic modules 26previously described and illustrated in FIGS. 16A and 16B as an example.The fiber optic equipment 410 in this embodiment does not include afiber optic equipment drawer. The fiber optic equipment trays 22 in thisembodiment are supported directly by the chassis 412 as opposed to anintermediate fiber optic equipment drawer. The tray guides 74, 74′ andtray rails 136 previously described in FIGS. 19A-21B can be used in thechassis 412 to support the fiber optic equipment trays 22 therein and toallow each fiber optic equipment tray 22 to be independently extendedout from and retracted back into the chassis 412. However, in thechassis 412, up to twelve (12) fiber optic equipment trays 22 can beprovided for a total of up to five hundred seventy-six (576) fiber opticconnections (i.e., twelve (12) fiber optic equipment trays 22×four (4)fiber optic modules 26 per fiber optic equipment tray 22×twelve (12)fiber optic connections per fiber optic module 26). Thus, tray guides418 disposed in the chassis 412, as illustrated in FIG. 34, can supportup to twelve (12) fiber optic equipment trays 22. Otherwise, the trayguides 418 contain the same guide members and other features to supportthe fiber optic equipment trays 22 disposed therein as the tray guides74 illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B and previously discussed.

FIG. 35 illustrates the fiber optic equipment 410 with one fiber opticequipment tray 22′ extended out from the chassis 412. The fiber opticequipment tray 22′ contains tray rails 136 just as illustrated in FIGS.21A and 21B and previously described above to move about tray guides 74,just as illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B and previously described above.The fiber optic equipment tray 22′ can be extended from the chassis 412to provide enhanced access to fiber optic modules 26 contained thereinand their fiber optic connections. When access is complete, theretracted fiber optic equipment tray 22′ can be pushed back into thechassis 412 about the tray guides 418 just as previously described andillustrated for the fiber optic equipment trays 22 with regard to thechassis 12 and fiber optic equipment drawer 20.

Note that although the fiber optic equipment 410 illustrated in FIGS.33A-35 does not include a fiber optic equipment drawer to allow thefiber optic equipment trays 22 to be pulled in and out of the chassis412 collectively, a fiber optic equipment drawer could be provided. Thefiber optic equipment drawer could be provided like or similar to thefiber optic equipment drawer 20 previously described and illustrated.The fiber optic equipment drawer could be designed to be retained andmove in and out of the chassis 412, like the fiber optic equipmentdrawer 20 is retained and moved in and out of the chassis 12 previouslydescribed and illustrated. The fiber optic equipment tray 22 supportedin the fiber optic equipment 410 would be inserted and supported in trayguides, like or similar to the tray guides 74 installed inside a fiberoptic equipment drawer previously described and illustrated. Movement ofthe fiber optic equipment drawer would collectively move each of thefiber optic equipment trays 22. Providing a fiber optic equipmentdrawer, including like or similar to the fiber optic equipment drawer 20previously described and illustrated, is not limited to any particularsize, arrangement, or number of fiber optic equipment trays or fiberoptic modules.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theinvention pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. These modificationsinclude, but are not limited to, number or type of fiber opticequipment, fiber optic equipment drawer, features included in the fiberoptic equipment drawer, including but not limited to retention features,pull out distance features, tilt features, and/or tilt limitingfeatures. Any size equipment, including but not limited to 1-U, 2-U and4-U sizes may include some or all of the aforementioned features,including but not limited to fiber optic equipment drawer(s), bothtiltable and non-tiltable, fiber optic equipment tray(s), and fiberoptic modules disclosed herein and some or all of their features.Further, the modifications are not limited to the type of fiber opticequipment tray or the means or device to support fiber optic modulesinstalled in the fiber optic equipment trays. The fiber optic modulescan include any fiber optic connection type, including but not limitedto fiber optic connectors and adapters, and number of fiber opticconnections, density, etc.

The terms “fiber optic cables” and/or “optical fibers” include all typesof single mode and multi-mode light waveguides, including one or moreoptical fibers that may be upcoated, colored, buffered, ribbonizedand/or have other organizing or protective structure in a cable such asone or more tubes, strength members, jackets or the like. Likewise,other types of suitable optical fibers include bend-insensitive opticalfibers, or any other expedient of a medium for transmitting lightsignals. An example of a bend-insensitive optical fiber is ClearCurve®Multimode fiber commercially available from Corning Incorporated.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments are not to belimited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications andother embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. It is intended that the embodiments cover themodifications and variations of this invention provided they come withinthe scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. Althoughspecific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic anddescriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1. A fiber optic equipment guide panel, comprising: an elongated member;and at least one guide member disposed in the elongated member andconfigured to receive fiber optic equipment; wherein the elongatedmember is configured to be attached to a chassis.
 2. The fiber opticequipment guide panel of claim 1, wherein the fiber optic equipmentincludes at least one fiber optic equipment rail configured to bereceived within the at least one guide member.
 3. The fiber opticequipment guide panel of claim 1, further comprising at least oneaperture disposed in the elongated member to support attachment of theelongated member to the chassis.
 4. The fiber optic equipment guidepanel of claim 1, further comprising a pull-out limiting member disposedon an end of the at least one guide member.
 5. The fiber optic equipmentguide panel of claim 1, further comprising: a front pull-out limitingmember disposed on a front end of the at least one guide member; and arear pull-out limiting member disposed on a rear end of the at least oneguide member.
 6. The fiber optic equipment guide panel of claim 1,further comprising at least one stopping member disposed within the atleast one guide member.
 7. The fiber optic equipment guide panel ofclaim 6, wherein the at least one stopping member is configured toreceive at least one complimentary member in the fiber optic equipment.8. The fiber optic equipment guide panel of claim 6, wherein the atleast one stopping member is comprised of at least one detent or atleast one protrusion.
 9. The fiber optic equipment guide panel of claim6, wherein the at least one stopping member is comprised of at least oneleaf spring disposed in the at least one guide member.
 10. The fiberoptic equipment guide panel of claim 9, wherein the at least one leafspring is provided in the form of at least one curly bracket.
 11. Thefiber optic equipment guide panel of claim 9, wherein the at least oneleaf spring provides a force between two (2) and four (4) pounds (lbs).12. The fiber optic equipment guide panel of claim 6, wherein the atleast one stopping member is comprised of a plurality of stoppingmembers disposed in the at least one guide member configured to providea plurality of stopping positions for the fiber optic equipment duringmovement along the at least one guide member.
 13. The fiber opticequipment guide of claim 1, wherein the chassis is comprised of adrawer.
 14. The fiber optic equipment guide panel of claim 1, whereinthe fiber optic equipment is comprised of a fiber optic module or afiber optic equipment tray.
 15. The fiber optic equipment guide panel ofclaim 1, comprising two of the fiber optic equipment guide panelsdisposed opposing each other in the chassis each configured to receiveopposing ends of the fiber optic equipment.
 16. A fiber optic equipmentguide, comprising: a guide panel; at least one guide member disposed inthe guide panel and configured to receive fiber optic equipment; and atleast three stopping members disposed in the at least one guide memberconfigured to provide one or more less stopping positions than thenumber of stopping members for the fiber optic equipment during movementin the at least one guide member.
 17. The fiber optic equipment guide ofclaim 16, wherein the fiber optic equipment includes at least one fiberoptic equipment rail configured to be received within the at least oneguide member.
 18. The fiber optic equipment guide of claim 16, whereinthe fiber optic equipment is configured to engage at least two of the atleast three stopping members to provide a stopping position for thefiber optic equipment.
 19. The fiber optic equipment guide of claim 16,wherein the at least three stopping members are each configured toreceive a complimentary member in the fiber optic equipment.
 20. Thefiber optic equipment guide of claim 16, wherein the at least threestopping members are each comprised of either a detent or a protrusion.21. The fiber optic equipment guide of claim 16, wherein at least one ofthe at least three stopping members is engaged by the fiber opticequipment for each of the stopping positions.
 22. A fiber opticequipment guide, comprising: a guide panel; at least one guide memberdisposed in the guide panel and configured to receive fiber opticequipment; at least one stopping member disposed in the at least oneguide member configured to provide at least one stopping position forthe fiber optic equipment during movement in the at least one guidemember; and at least one transition member disposed in the at least oneguide member configured to allow a protrusion disposed in the fiberoptic equipment to pass as a fiber optic equipment tray is translatedwithin the at least one guide member.
 23. The fiber optic equipmentguide of claim 22, wherein the fiber optic equipment includes at leastone fiber optic equipment rail configured to be received within the atleast one guide member.
 24. The fiber optic equipment guide of claim 22,wherein the at least one transition member includes at least oneincluded surface.
 25. The fiber optic equipment guide of claim 22,wherein the at least one transition member is disposed between a frontend and a rear end of the at least one guide member.
 26. The fiber opticequipment guide of claim 22, further comprising a pull-out limitingmember disposed on an end of the at least one guide member.
 27. Thefiber optic equipment guide of claim 22, further comprising: a frontpull-out limiting member disposed on a front end of the at least oneguide member; and a rear pull-out limiting member disposed on a rear endof the at least one guide member.
 28. A fiber optic equipment rail,comprising: an elongated member configured to be attached to fiber opticequipment and received in a fiber optic equipment guide to move thefiber optic equipment about the fiber optic equipment guide; and atleast one detent disposed in the elongated member and configured toengage with the at least one stopping member disposed in the fiber opticequipment guide to provide at least one stopping position for the fiberoptic equipment during movement about the fiber optic equipment guide.29. The fiber optic equipment rail of claim 28, wherein the at least onestopping member is comprised of at least one detent or at least oneprotrusion.
 30. The fiber optic equipment rail of claim 29, wherein theat least one stopping member is comprised of at least one leaf spring.31. The fiber optic equipment rail of claim 28, further comprising atleast one protrusion disposed in the elongated member.
 32. The fiberoptic equipment rail of claim 31, wherein the at least one protrusion isconfigured to engage with at least one transition member disposed in thefiber optic equipment guide.
 33. The fiber optic equipment rail of claim31, wherein the at least one protrusion is configured is engage with atleast one pull-out limiting member disposed on an end of the fiber opticequipment guide.
 34. The fiber optic equipment rail of claim 28 attachedto a fiber optic equipment tray or a fiber optic equipment module. 35.The fiber optic equipment rail of claim 28, wherein the at least onedetent is configured to not impose a force on the at least one stoppingmember when the at least one detent is engaged with the at least onestopping member.
 36. A method of providing access to a fiber opticmodule in fiber optic equipment, comprising: imparting a force on afiber optic equipment tray supporting one or more fiber optic modules tomove at least one fiber optic equipment rail attached to the fiber opticequipment tray about a fiber optic equipment guide disposed in the fiberoptic equipment; and releasing at least one detent disposed in the fiberoptic equipment rail from a first stopping member disposed in the fiberoptic equipment guide to allow the fiber optic equipment tray to move;engaging a second stopping member disposed in the fiber optic equipmentguide with the at least one detent disposed in the fiber optic equipmentrail to stop movement of the fiber optic equipment tray.
 37. The methodof claim 36, wherein the at least one stopping member is comprised of atleast one detent or at least one protrusion.
 38. The method of claim 36,wherein the first and second stopping members are each comprised of aleaf spring.
 39. The method of claim 36, further comprising limiting thepull out distance of the fiber optic equipment tray when the at leastone detent engages a pull-out limiting member disposed on an end of thefiber optic equipment guide.
 40. The method of claim 36, wherein the atleast one detent is configured to not impose a force on the at least onestopping member when the at least one detent is engaged with the atleast one stopping member.